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900 W. Main St.,
PO Box 690 Grangeville, ID 83530
Phone: 208.983.1200 |
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| Career day offers students life options |
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 | | Free Press/Lorie Palmer | | Sixth grade students at Grangeville Elementary Middle School crowd around career day presenter Rick Bashaw and his logging truck Feb. 24. |
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By Lorie Palmer (community editor)
GRANGEVILLE -- What do you want to be when you grow up? It's not too early for Grangeville Elementary Middle School sixth graders to start thinking about this question.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday, the students spent their days listening to their peers' parents and other local business men and women who described their careers. From an optometrist and a log truck driver to an archaeologist and an attorney, students listened and asked questions.
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Rick Bashaw, a log truck driver whose son, Triston, is in sixth grade, spoke to students about the pros and cons of his job.
"I grew up wanting to imitate my dad, who also drove," Rick said. "I love the woods and it just seemed natural."
Bashaw said he delivers anywhere from two to five loads per day, working about 15 hour days.
"It is physically demanding to load and tie down, then put chains on and spend all that time getting to your destination," he said. Bashaw has been driving a logging truck for about a decade now.
"What do you like the least about your job?" asked Shandra Madden.
Bashaw explained the icy roads and snow during the winter are his least favorite times and told the kids about a slide-off he had last year.
"It was traumatic," he said. "It's something you never want to have happen, but I also can't dwell on it."
"How much money do you make?" asked Garrett Key.
"About 33 percent gross of the truck load and those loads of logs are anywhere from $600 on up," Bashaw smiled. "So I'll let you use your math skills and figure that out."
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"Do you know what an entrepreneur is?" asked Gunther Williams.
"A business owner," answered Zach Stinett.
"That's right. That's what I am," Williams stated.
Williams, who co-owns and runs Idaho Sewing for Sports in Mt. Idaho as well as several other small businesses, spoke to students on being a business manager/owner.
Idaho Sewing for Sports makes the snow tubes, including the ones used at Snowhaven Ski Area, and a variety of other padding and vinyl-type products.
"We supplied a majority of the padding for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and have made some for the 2010 games in Canada," Williams said. "If you saw that big row of Coke cans at the bottom of Whistler, that was us."
Williams explained their is an advantage to being a business owner because "you can do what you want to, but you also have to stay late and clean up and make sure everything is going smoothly," he said.
Williams explained to the kids that money is essential, but it's "not the only thing."
"I am concerned about service and what I can do for our employees and our customers, too," he said. "I keep that in mind and even when work is slower or things aren't going as well, and the money always ends up being there."
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Additional presenters included the following: John Purdy - employment office manager (retired); Ellis Roberts - airplane mechanic; Vicky Smith - bookkeeper; Wes Walter - police officer; Chris Wagner - painter/theater owner; Brenda Wilson - airline attendant; Dr. Joel Brown - optometrist; Phil Ruhnke - contractor; Krista Kerley - archaeologist; and Daren Fales - attorney.
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